Pipe closure



Feb. 21, 1933. G. H. CLEVENGER PIPE CLOSURE Filed July 23, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 21-,- 1933. H. CLEVENGER. 1,898,714

PIPE CLosURE Filed July 25, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheetw 2 Z174 6* J ai,

Waff-zaag Y bazr #M mm L M (www (OVW Patented Feb. 21, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT oF'FIecEf GALEN H. CLEVENGER, on BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS; AssIGNoR.' ToiUNI'rnD srfnriss SMELTING, REF'INING a' MINING COMPANY, 0F PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION rrrn 'cLOsnRnl The 'presenti inventionrelates to pipe closures, and more particularly to aclosure `and the means for opening. or :clearing the same by the operator from'a distant point bydevices -passedthrough the interior of the pipe.

The object of the presentinvention is to provide a device or apparatus of thecharacter specilied, which shallbe simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and quick and'certain in operation. To the above ends the present invention consists in the devices andcombinations ofdevices hereinafter described'and claimed.

In' the dredging for gold in Alaska and other northern countries,it has been found necessary in many localities to thaw the ground'in order to enable Vthedredge to eX- cavate the"gold#bearing material. A common method ofithawing has been by sinking pipes into the ground and forcing water through-such pipes to thaw the surrounding ground. *The-UnitedStates patent to Miles, No. 1,839,036, dated May 4,1920, discloses this methodfof thawing.

When these pipes are sunk during the warmer season the ground immediately in advance of the end of the pipe may be thawed by forcing water vthrough the pipe. In'the colder seasons, as spring'and fall, when'the temperatureis so 4low thatfthe thawing water cannot'bef used, itis the practice to drill a hole directly downwardfthrough the frozen ground and then setting :an iron pipe in the hole, extending from above the surface of the ground tothe very bottom.

Sincel thispipe must be open at its lower end to permit the escape of the thawingwateriwhen the thawing sea-son comes, Water is free to enter ifthe' pipe is left open and may then freeze,vbursting i more or less ofthe length `ofpipe and linterfering with its proper use with thawing Water later in the season. Furthermore,` since it is the practicev to withdraw these pipes after the thawing. iscornpleted and usethem'again and. again in other locations, considerable financial loss lmay resultl from suchrfreezing, particularly since they alreused so far from' the source'of supply Where transportation costs vare-excessive.

The: present invention' is particularly 1.929. srial No. 380,510.

adapted for use with such'thawing pipes in that it provides Aa water-tight'closure for the lower end'of thelpipeV which willeifectually preventy the' entrance of water intothe pipe and laterv destructive freezing, yet' is adapted to be openedfor: cleared by the operator quickL ly and with certainty Jfrom the vupperend of the pipe by means passed through the interior of the pipe.

Briefly, the closure comprises-a -metal disk mounted or secured in the Vloottomlend ofthe pipe' to form an impervious partition, yet adapted to be torn away fromits mounting andv` removed bodily from the 4upper end of the' pipe. For this purpose thiedisk" is 'provided with a hook engaging member adapted to be caught'by a hook on'the lower'end'of a rope or other means lowered-into the pipe. By'a lever device mounted .upon` the upper end of the lpipe the operator is enabled to eX'- ert a heavyA tension upon the rope and'hook to tearaway the' partition from yits'nlfounting andY thusopen the lowerend ofthe pipe.

In the accompanying drawings" whichillustratea preferred construction Yoff-the presentinVentiOm-Fig. 1 is a'verticalfsectional View showingy the'pipe closure in position inthe end of the pipe withtheco-"operatin'g devices in positionforopenin'g or clearing the pipe; Fig.. 2 isa side elevation of the levi attachment on the upper end of the' pipe, and Fig. 3 :is a topplan of thefsame; Figs; '4 and-'5 fc5 Y are elevations-of-adjacentrfaces Orsides of'y 6 is a-fsection on 'the' 1inef66 is' a section orf thev line 7 7,-

the hook Fig. Fig.. 4; Fig.

Fig. 5; Fig; 8 is a side'view' largely'insection ofthe closure` with itsfbail or'loop; Fig; 9`fis-'a transverse section on the line 9 9, Fig. 8'; and Figs. l0 and `l1 Vshowthe partition, the former in side elevation and the latterin axial l-end viewY before assembly: f Y

In the construction shown' infFigal, 91and 10,` the closure vcomprises a mounting' in the form of a hollow cylindrical sleeve 15- ex' ternally threaded 'for a Ipiortionoffitslength to Aengage the internal vthreads of :a coupling 1701i the-lower end-of the pipe 19?,l Preferably the sleeve lis "provided zwitha'zseriesof `radial'openingsT Qlfinfthe unthreac'ledf4 proi 'jectingfendportion in order to lpermit 4the free lateral escape of the thawing water should the end of the closure be partially or completely sealed by a rock or otherwise.

Within the sleeve is the partition 23, which consists of a metal disk beveled at its edges as shown at 25 and secured to the sleeve by soldering at such edges, thus forming, when the sleeve is in position in the pipe, an impervious barrier sealing or closing the end of the pipe.

Secured to this partition or disk is a wire 27, one end 29 of which is passed twice through the disk and then clenched against the face of the disk, while the other end is formed into a bail or loop 31. Leakage around the wire where it passes through the disk is prevented by soldering. Y

`Before the pipe is inserted in the ground the coupling 17 is screwed on to its lower end, and then vthe closure is screwed into the coupling leaving the bail or loop standing upright in the pipe with the top of the bail or loop positioned substantially diametrically across the pipe. The pipe will now be lowered into the ground in the hole previously drilled, and may be left indefinitely without possibility of any water entering the lower endof the pipe to freeze and cause damage.

The partition or disk is torn away from the sleeve 15 by means of a rope lowered into the pipe andcarrying, at its end a hook for engaging the bail. This hook, shown separately in Figs. 4 to 7, comprises a head 33 of generally rectangularcross-section with bevelled corners as at 35. The lower end is pointed as at 37 to form a'narrow, chisel-like kextremity to guide and turn the head into proper position for the lhook to catch the bail. The rear portion of the head is formed ,with alongitudinal recess 39, within which is pivotedat 41 the double hook 43, withflaring prongs. .Extending rearwardly from the head is the shank 45 carrying at its end the vloop or eye 47 for attachment of the rope.

The springs 49 rivetedto the shank 45engage the inner facesY of the prongsA of the hook with yielding pressure to maintain the hook in -proper alignment. These springs also serve to prevent the hook from being disengaged from the bail 31 on the partition or Edisk when the bail has once entered the hook and passed thevendof the spring. Fig. 1 The rear In order to make it easier for the operator Ito-exert sufficient pull upon the rope to tear away the partition or disk from the sleeve, a

Y*lever and mounting have Vbeen provided Vadapted to be secured to the top of the pipe whereby a heavy strain or tension may be imparted tothe rope. The leverand mounting are shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the lever being in the form of a wooden member havinga long power arm 51 and a short work threaded sleeve and into the pipe. diameter of the sleeve is slightly less than that arm 53 pivoted upon the horizontal stud 55. The work arm 53 is notched with the bottom of the notch rounded, as shown at 57, to receive the rope 59, and a fastening or cleat 61 is fixed upon the lever for fastening the rope.

The mounting of the lever comprises a sleeve 63 internally threadedv so as to be screwed upon the upper end of the pipe 19. Extending from opposite sides of the sleeve are the' two'arms or ears 65, betw-een the upper ends of which arms is pivoted the lever, while the lower ends of the arms carry the semi-circular foot 67 adapted to engage the wall of the pipe.. The arms are stiii'ened by means of the studs 69 extending between the inner faces of the arms and weldedor otherwise secured together.

In operation the closure is secured in the end of the pipe before the latter is lowered into the ground. When itis desired to open the pipe the hook and rope are loweredinto the pipe until the lower end of the f hook strikes the partition or disk. Owing to the shape of the point of the hook, the latter will be guided to one side or the other of the substantially diametrically-located bail, the hook yielding slightly, if necessary, as it passes the top of the bail. The bail is of such length and proportions that when the head of the hook engages the disk or partition, the hook member will lie underneath the top of the bail in position to catch the latter whenthe rope and hook are drawn upward, Athe bail passing between one of the hooks and its contacting spring and engaging the rounded upper end of the head in one or the other of the grooves. The bail is now locked in the hook and secured against displacement even if the hook should again be lowered.

The operator continues to draw upon the rope until it is well tightened when he takes a bite about thecleat, the hand lever at this time having its handle raised and its rope engaging end lowered. The handle is next forced downwardly and through the greatly increased leverage exerts'suiiicient stress upon the rope to tear'the partitionaway from the Since the of the pipe, ample clearance is afforded for the disk, once it is clear of the sleeve. Preferably the point of attachment of the bail is near one edge ofthe disk yso that the separation of the disk from its mounting will start at one point and then'progress around the disk. It isalso of advantage to have the disk of suflicienty thinness to permit more or less bending or distortion of the disk d'uring the process. i

After the idisk has been freed from its sleeve,.the operator can draw the rope easily by hand without thelever, and finally withdraw from 'the pipe the hook and disk.-y The hook .may now be disengagedxfrom the bail andthe lever supportremoved from the upper end of the pipe when the apparatus will be ready for use to clear or open another pipe.

While the present invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a specic form and construct-ion especially designed for a particular purpose and use, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be embodied in other forms and arrangements and applied to other uses.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is:

l. A pipe closure comprising a sleeve adapted to be secured in one end of a pipe, a partition secured in the sleeve, and a loop carried by the partition and extending into the pipe With its partition engaging end s'ub'- stantially diametrically across the pipe.

2. The combination with a disk adapted to be secured in one end of a pipe and having hook engaging means, of a hook member, said member carrying a hook pivoted thereon,.and a spring engaging the inner face of the hook to permit yielding movement of the hook on its pivot and to lock the hook in engagement with said hook engaging means.

3. The combination With an impervious partition adapted to be secured in one end of a pipe and provided With hook engaging means, of a hook member comprising a head having a chisel-like extremity to guide the member, a double hook pivoted in the head, and springs normally closing the hooks to permit yielding movement of the hook and to close the hook to prevent disconnection from said hook engaging means.

4. A device for removing closures from pipes comprising a head having a chisel-like end and a longitudinal recess, a double hook pivotally mounted in the recess, a shank eX- tending from the head and provided With means for attachment of a flexible member, and a pair of springs mounted on the shank and engaging the inner faces of the hooks.

5. A device for removing closures from pipes comprising a sleeve adapted to be mounted upon one end of the pipe, an arm extending from the sleeve, a lever pivoted upon the upper end of said arm With one end overlying the sleeve, cord fastening devices carried by the lever, and a curved abutment carried by the lower end of the arm and adapted to engage the pipe.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

GALEN H. CLEVENGER. 

